Currently ranked 33 in the world and first in Africa, the D’Tigers on a 9 match unbeaten run according to Nwora will hope to finish the campaign on a high to boost the team’s rating before the World Cup draws.

Alex Nwora said the preparation for the 2019 World Cup in China has started in earnest and it was imperative to give more quality players equal opportunity to fight for shirts.

“We were the first country in the world to qualify for the World Cup and it is very important that we start our preparation early.”

“The journey to get the team ready for the World Cup is a long one, but I am happy with the progress we have made so far.”

According to the Secretary General of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Chimezie Asiegbu, the players and technical crew are expected to fly straight to Abidjan from their clubs for logistics reasons.